UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SADRA POURSHAKOURI, ) HOSSEIN POURSHAKOURI, 5 _ ) Plaintiffs, ) Civil Case No. 20-00402 (RJL) y ) " ) MIKE POMPEO, et al., Defendants. ) jx MEMORANDUM OPINION (August Sh 2021) [Dkt. #7, #12] Plaintiffs Sadra and Hossein Pourshakouri (“Sadra” and “Hossein” individually or, collectively, “plaintiffs”) bring this action against numerous federal officials (“defendants”), seeking to compel the U.S. Government (“Government”) to adjudicate Hossein’s immigrant visa application. See Pls.’ Pet. for Writ of Mandamus and Compl. for Declaratory Relief (“Compl.”) [Dkt. #1]. Plaintiffs allege the failure to issue a final decision on Hossein’s application after it has been pending for several years constitutes an “unreasonable delay” warranting relief under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 701, et seg., and the Mandamus Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1361. Presently before the Court are defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (“Defs.’ Mot.”) [Dkt. #7] and plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (“Pls.’ Mot.’’) [Dkt. #12]. Because I agree with defendants that, at this point in time, plaintiffs have failed to state an unreasonable delay claim, defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED and plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED. BACKGROUND Plaintiffs in this case are father and son. Sadra is a U.S. citizen currently residing in the United States. Compl. §f 24, 60. Hossein, Sadra’s father, is an Iranian national residing in Iran. Id. J] 25, 61. Hossein is eighty-three years old and currently lives alone. Jd. {| 61, 77. In order to reunite with Sadra and other family members living in the United States and Canada, plaintiffs began the immigration process to relocate Hossein to the United States in 2013. Jd. § 62. Foreign relatives of U.S. citizens seeking to immigrate to the United States must go through a multi-step process governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). That process begins with the filing of a Form I-130 petition with U.S. Customs and Immigration Services. See 8 U.S.C. § 1154; 8 C.F.R. § 204.1(a)(1), (b). Sadra filed a Form I-130 petition on Hossein’s behalf, which was approved on May 17, 2013. Compl. { 62. The next step in the process requires the foreign relative to complete Form DS- 260, Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration. See 22 C.F.R. § 42.67. In conjunction with completing the Form DS-260, the relative must pay an application fee, furnish fingerprints, and participate in an interview with a consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. See id. § 42.67(a)(1), (a)(3), (c). On or around April 14, 2014, plaintiffs paid the necessary fee and submitted Hossein’s application to the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi (the “Embassy”). Compl. 7 63. On April 25, 2015,' a consular officer with the Embassy interviewed Hossein. See id. 64. Shortly after the interview, on April 28, 2015, plaintiffs were informed that Hossein’s application was temporarily refused under Section 221(g) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1201(g), and would require further administralive processing. See id.; Pls.’ Mot. at 2. On December …
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